The Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA) announces its first-ever Latine Theatre Artist Week, April 1-8, 2024, a week of events and workshops dedicated to independent Latine theater professionals who are dedicating their lives to bringing theater to life and enriching the lives of all Chicagoans.
Admission is free to all events during Latine Theatre Artist Week. However, space is limited. Advance registration is required.
Registration opens later this week. Local Latine theater artists are encouraged to go to clata.org to sign up for:
How to Prepare for an Audition Workshop (from a casting director's perspective)
Hosted by Adelina Feldman-Schultz
Monday, April 1, 4-7 p.m.
At the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St.
Registration required
Casting Director Adelina Feldman-Schultz will share information, proven tips and interactive exercises to help Latine actors boost their audition skills and book more work. Feldman-Schultz is a Chicago-based Latina casting director, actor and consultant. She is a proud member of The Chicago Inclusion Project, serving as both Co-Program Manager of the Active Anti-Racism training workshop and as a casting assistant. As one of the co-founders of the annual Chicago Theatre Access Auditions, she has helped introduce dozens of theaters to hundreds of up-and-coming Chicago actors.
Understanding Theatre Contracts as Independent Artists
Presented in collaboration with Lawyers for the Creative Arts
Hosted by Jerry Glover
Wednesday, April 3, 12-1:30 p.m
Live, Zoom presentation with Q&A
Registration required
Attorney Jerry Glover will help independent Latine theater artists understand the ins and outs of theater contracts, including negotiation tactics, red flags to watch for, and more. Glover is a retired partner at Leavens, Strand & Glover, LLC with years of experience working with clients including Harpo Productions, Warner Brothers Television as well as Broadway, Off-Broadway and regional theater producers. Glover is a board member with Lawyers for the Creative Arts (LCA), a pro bono legal service organization with expertise in all areas of the arts. For over 50 years, LCA has assisted tens of thousands of arts workers and arts organizations in Illinois through legal referrals and educational programs. Learn more at law-arts.org.
Professional Headshot Day
Thursday, April 4, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
National Museum of Mexican Art. 1852 W. 19th St., Pilsen
Registration required
Latine actors and performers will have the chance to sign up for a free 10-minute session led by their choice of two professional photographers, Joel Maisonet and Lorena Paredes.
Paredes is a professional freelance photographer with over seven years of industry experience, located in the West Lawn community in Chicago. What started off as a hobby snowballed into a passion that led the way into her journey as an entrepreneur, building LMP Photography. lmpphotography.org
Maisonet, with over a decade of experience specializing in headshot photography, has provided Chicago actors, artists and corporate clientele with dynamic headshots that leave a lasting impression. maisonetphotography.com
How to Prepare for an Audition Workshop (from an actor/director's perspective)
Hosted by Sandra Marquez
Friday, April 5, 2:30-5:30 p.m.
National Museum of Mexican Art. 1852 W. 19th St., Pilsen
Registration required
Sandra Marquez, an award-winning Chicago-based actor, director and educator for more than 25 years, will host a workshop focusing on the best audition techniques to bring your monologues alive with specificity and nuance. A longtime ensemble member at Teatro Vista, she served as the Associate Artistic Director alongside Artistic Director Edward Torres from 1998-2006. She is a member of the Northwestern University theater faculty where she enjoys teaching and mentoring young artists. In 2016 she was the first Latinx artist to join the Steppenwolf Theatre Company ensemble.
Latine Open Casting Call Day
Monday, April 8, 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
National Museum of Mexican Art, 1852 W. 19th St., Pilsen
Registration required
Top Chicago casting directors from local theaters large and small will gather for a full day to scout for new Latine stage talent. Participants will be asked to prepare a monologue, a song, a poem, a story or showcase a special skill within a three-minute time slot. Latine Open Casting Call Day is presented in collaboration with Goodman Theatre.
“Supporting the development of emerging and established Latine playwrights, actors, directors and theater professionals is central to our mission,” said CLATA Executive Director Jorge Valdivia. “Latine Theatre Artist Week is a new initiative from CLATA, and a unique opportunity for Chicago’s Latine theater community. We hope local Latine theater artists will take full advantage of the week’s offerings, including professional development, free headshots, and auditioning for casting directors who are actively on the lookout for Latine actors in Chicago.”
In fact, casting directors will be scouting for actors to perform later this spring at Inicios 2024, the 2nd Chicago Latine Playwright Festival.
Currently, a panel is reviewing new, full-length scripts submitted earlier this year by Latino/a/e/x writers from the greater Chicagoland area. Three plays, each with a $1,000 award, will be selected and presented at free staged readings May 15-17, 2024 at three locations including the National Museum of Mexican Art.
During Latine Open Casting Call Day, Chicago directors working with CLATA on Inicios 2024 hope to find fresh new talent to workshop and perform new plays about the Latine experience, written by local Latine playwrights. For more information, visit clata.org
About the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA)
The Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA) is a leading advocate organization for Latine theater in Chicago. Supporting the development of emerging and established Latine playwrights, actors, directors and theater professionals is central to its mission. CLATA’s goal is to cultivate a vibrant and inclusive theater community, by presenting and producing Latine theater that celebrates and promotes the richness and diversity of our Latinidad. CLATA believes together we can build a stronger and more sustainable Latine theater industry.
CLATA has three signature programs: 1) Destinos, the Chicago International Latino Theater Festival, an annual, citywide festival showcasing Chicago's Latine theater artists and companies alongside top Latine artists from the U.S. and Latin America, 2) Destinos Al Aire, a free outdoor family festival that brings performing arts to Chicago Latine communities with the goal of making the arts accessible to everyone, and 3) Inicios, the Chicago Latine Playwright Festival, an annual festival dedicated to elevating and promoting Chicagoland area Latine playwrights.
CLATA is supported by the Ford Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Joyce Foundation, Arts Work Fund, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Driehaus Foundation, Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Foundation, Excellerator Fund, Shubert Foundation, National Association of Latino Arts and Culture, Illinois Arts Council Agency, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and Arts Alliance Illinois.
For more information, visit clata.org, or follow CLATA on Facebook, Instagram and Threads at @latinotheater.